Trees from the Acer family like silver maple and box elder like to multi stem while the sugar maple are single trunks. If it was a young tree I would say have the tree trimmer shape it and with time...

I've seen crab apples trimmed that way, Since it was across the street I can tell you when they need trimming every couple years it was an all day affair.
One of the nicest shots is on the Arbor Day...

:lol: I guessing a chinese chestnut too, The American Chestnut has saw tooth leaves. Good explanations for Pollarding and Coppicing on page 3. Some trees that can be coppiced include Ash, Maples and...

My guess is Sycamore and they can live hundreds of years. Also could be a white or yellow birch. That picture also shows more, It's surrounded by young conifers so my theory is the damage is from an...

Good Luck, The only further Advice I can give you is to cover the trees with leaves and perhaps surround the taller ones with burlap so the leaves don't blow away. It's a process used to grow zone 8...